Graduate Symposium Johns Hopkins-Yale
Mutamenti: Metamorphosis from the Human to the Posthuman

Description
From the transformation of Ulysses’ companions in the Odyssey to recent debates on transgender theory, metamorphosis (from the Ancient Greek μεταμόρϕωσις) has played a fundamental role in literary, historical, and anthropological thought. The act of transformation, linked to human evolution and historical-social change, surfaces in a variety of contexts: the Metamorphoses of Ovid and Apuleius, the transformations of the body and spirit in the Middle Ages, Renaissance practices in alchemy, Machiavellian political theories in the face of historical changes, D’Annunzio’s panismo, and Alberto Burri’s transfigurations of raw material.
What does metamorphosis mean for humankind? How has it been represented in Italy from classicism to today? How have historical changes shaped philosophical, literary, and artistic thought? By exploring this theme, it is possible to build theoretical bridges between various disciplines and historical moments. Mutamenti invites scholars to investigate the concept of metamorphosis both synchronically and diachronically.
The conference is open to graduate students and recent PhDs (within three years of degree conferral) who would like to consider the topic: “Mutamenti: Metamorphosis from Human to Posthuman.” The conference will be held in person at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore on October 28-29, 2022. Mutamenti seeks papers that examine (but are not limited to) the following lines of investigation:

1. Metamorphosis as a genre
2. Political transformations
3. Reception of a source
4. Metamorphism in the arts
5. Metamorphosis of a character
6. Transness as a theoretical framework
7. Climatic/environmental changes

Eugenio Refini (New York University) and Shane Butler (Johns Hopkins University) will each deliver a keynote address during the conference.

Proposal submission
All submissions must be sent via email in a single Word document entitled “Last Name JHU-Yale” to mutamenti.jhuyalegmail.com no later than June 30, 2022 and contain the following items: 1) an abstract (200 words max) 2) a short bio 3) your full name, email address, and affiliation. Please use “Symposium JHU-Yale” in the subject line.
Participation in this conference is free. No organizational registration is required.

Hopkins Committee: Tatiana Avesani, Marta Cerreti, Giulia Maria Cipriani, Cristina D’Errico, Alberto Fabris, Martina Franzini, Alessio Panichi, Silvia Raimondi, Sam Zawacki
Yale Committee: Zach Aguilar, Costanza Barchiesi, Giacomo Berchi, Nicholas Berrettini, Roberto Ferrini, Francesca Leonardi, Lydia Tuan